Natural Fertilizers for Strawberries

Natural fertilizers help grow organic strawberries.

Growing strawberries in your own backyard gives you a steady supply of these juicy fruits. However, before you enjoy the fruits of your labor, feed your strawberry plants so that they produce healthy fruits. Using natural fertilizers is essential in growing organic strawberries free from synthetic materials and harmful chemicals.

Planting Features of Strawberries

The shallow roots of strawberries make them extremely susceptible to high as well as low water conditions. When you use natural fertilizers to feed strawberries, you also prevent harmful chemicals from touching the fruits that grow low and touch the ground. Aside from natural fertilizers, many strawberry growers use raised-bed planting systems with plastic mulch to keep the strawberries well drained and free from soil-borne diseases. Raised beds or pots effectively manage not just the irrigation of the soil, but also transport the harvest at the end of every fruiting season.

Natural Fertilizers

Prepare and test soil at least six months before planting. By applying ground limestone, the soil's acidic level will fall within the preferred range of 6.0 to 6.3. Strawberries prefer organic soil. Adding peat moss, compost, manure and other organic materials to the soil keeps a stronger organic composition. When you buy natural fertilizers, you can find the number or combinations of N-P-K or Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium. The number could be any combination, such as 10-10-10, 5-10-5 or 2-4-1, to describe the ration and amount of active ingredients. Add potassium chloride only if and when necessary. After establishing the strawberry plant, apply natural fertilizers during the fruiting season. A healthy and balanced fertilizer mixed with a small amount of micronutrients will help enhance the quantity and quality of the harvest.

Growth Management

Strawberries need adequate chilling. Applying natural fertilizer during late summer allows enough time for the nutrients to blend well with the soil before fall sets in. For example, apply nitrogen adequately for three to four weeks. Nitrogen can come from guano, feather meal, liquid fish emulsion, compost, chicken and green manure. To control germination and growth of weeds, it's best to mulch with green manure during the preplanting stage. Supplemental application of foliar and composts will also protect the crops from soil-borne diseases.

Problems and Remedies Associated with Growing Strawberries

Controlling the growth of weeds is one of the challenges in growing strawberries, especially for those grown organically. In most cases, you can remove weeds by hand. However, growers may also apply several methods and control measures to prevent or lessen the damage. For example, a combination of green and brown plastic mulches works best for raised strawberry beds to control weeds and to reduce incidents of frost. Some growers employ biological interventions, such as geese, to control weed, but this would require extra work and effort. Landscaping using woolen fabric is also a good alternative in combating weed attacks, and allows abundant fruit production.

References

• North Dakota State University: Questions On: Fertilizer
• Agriculture and Natural Resources University of California: Fertilizer Management in Strawberry Production
• University of Connecticut: Suggested Fertilizer Practices for Strawberries
• National Center for Appropriate Technology: Strawberries: Organic Production

Resources

• Natural Fertilizer Reviews: Best Natural Fertilizer Plant Feeding Plan for Summer
• China Environmental Resources: Strawberry Specialized Fertilizer
• Litro Grow: Natural Fertilizers
• Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity in Strawberries, Shiow Y. Wang, 2003